


first encounter

by whichlights



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - College/University, Cryptid Hunter Keith, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, Slow Burn, it'll alternate each chapter have fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-01-28 13:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12607840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights
Summary: Lance's pod crash lands on a planet called Earth. Lance knows a grand total of nothing about this planet. Luckily, he has Keith to help him out.





	1. Chapter 1

If Lance had to choose between imminent, immediate, horrible death, and boredom, he would have chosen the death.

His pod was made to last a long journey, but not entertain any passengers. In fact, it hadn't even been built for passengers. The cargo ship Lance had stolen- well,  _borrowed,_ but he knew he wouldn't be returning it -was stocked with enough food and oxygen to withstand a long journey, and Lance wasn't going to die, but he was really bored of singing "Ten Thousand Bottles of Nunvil on the Wall" and reciting what he remembered of  _The Epic of King Groggery the Infirm_. 

He wanted to go home. But he'd come this far, and he couldn't exactly go back. Literally. He couldn't pilot the pod- Allura had set it to autopilot, and refused to show him how to override it before shoving him in and sending him away.

The pod started shaking, and Lance scrambled out of his makeshift hammock to look out the window. Allura had sent him to a planet, and he was entering it's atmosphere. Knowing Allura, she'd sent him to a planet far away from the Galra, with the appropriate amount of oxygen in the air for him. Lance had no idea what this planet was, but he was coming in hot.

The pod wouldn't break apart, but it was shaking, and Lance quickly made sure that everything important was strapped down. A stray piece of fruit hit his head and he winced, feeling the bump on his head. Then the entire crate of fruit was spinning towards him. Lance had a moment to yelp out "quiznak" before it knocked him across the pod. Lance was trapped against the wall of the pod as more loose boxes crashed down on him.

"Oh, to escape a war and die to fruit," Lance muttered. He hadn't realized how relevant that line from  _The Epic of King Groggery the Infirm_ would be in his life. 

\---

Shiro was going to kill him. Keith was entirely certain of this fact. He had two half complete essays due in two days. But that didn't matter, because Wednesday was Keith's day off. Shiro argued he should use that time to do his homework. Keith actually spent Wednesday nights looking for cryptids. And aliens, but Pidge was more about aliens than he was.

Keith put his headphones on, and listened to the sound of the whir and buzz of signals over the sounds of the crickets in the forest. Ping. Keith sat up straighter, looking at his readings. Ping. Ping. Keith looked around, looking for a disturbance in the night. Ping ping ping. He got out his phone and texted Pidge a picture of the readings. Ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping-

Keith blinked, and almost missed the glimmering pod streaking towards the trees. 

It was well camouflaged, but that couldn't disguise the streaks of fire coming off of it. Keith estimated its trajectory, and snapped a pic just before it disappeared into the trees. Then he darted to his car and drove towards it. 

Yep. Shiro was definitely going to kill him.

It took Keith ten minutes to find the crash site. The pod was steaming, but not on fire, and the door was propped open, just slightly. Keith poked at the door with his pencil. The pencil smoldered. It was way too hot to touch. 

"Help?" A voice from inside called softly. Keith froze. Someone or something was  _in there_. 

"Pidge is gonna be  _so_ jealous," Keith smiled to himself. "Hello?" He called to the someone or something in the pod.

Silence. Keith called, "your door isn't open enough, and I'll get burned if I touch it. Is it urgent? Should I call someone?"

"N-no. I think my ankle is sprained, and I'm trapped, but I'm okay." Quieter, "where am I?"

"About fifteen miles outside of the Garrison," Keith supplied, then hit his forehead. "That's not what you meant. Um, Earth. Our planet is called Earth."

Keith poked the pod with his pencil again. It didn't smolder, so Keith cautiously poked the door. It was warm, but cooling quickly. Keith wondered if the alien would let him have a sample of the pod.  _Shit, I'm about to meet an alien??_

Keith shoved the door open, and rushed inside. The alien- it  _had_ to be the alien -was covered in crates, even a metal pole laid over the boxes on his chest. He had white hair, and blue markings under his eyes, shaped like boomerangs, or bananas. His ears were long, pointy, and seemed to move independently, twitching impatiently. He gave Keith a winning smile. "I didn't have time to secure everything before I entered the atmosphere."

Keith started getting the boxes off of him. "I'm Keith," he offered as he worked.

"Lance."

"Are you an alien?" Keith blurted out.

Lance gave him a look. "I'm Altean."

"Oh- oh, is that what your planet is called? Altea? I'm sorry, no one on Earth has ever met an alien. I'm the first. Holy shit, I'm the first. Pidge is going to _freak out_."

"Congratulations. Who is Pidge?"

"My friend. She's a little younger than me, so we don't go to the same school anymore, but she's super smart. She really wants to meet an alien. Would you..."

"I'll meet her." 

"Do you need to get home?" Keith asked. "Your pod is kind of trashed."

Lance looked sad. "I can't pilot it anyways."

"Oh."

Eventually, all the boxes were off Lance, and Keith offered him his hand. Unsteadily, Lance stood up, wincing as his left foot hit the ground. "It's sprained, or broken, or something." Lance winced. "I need a doctor. Does Earth have doctors?"

"Yes, but- but they can't know about you." Keith's eyes widened. "The government will take you away if they find out you're an alien. They'll run all kinds of tests, or, I don't know, but I don't think it would be good. Maybe this is just my inner conspiracy theorist, but also I don't trust the government."

"Does Earth not have a good king?"

"You have so much to learn about Earth. Alright, Pidge's mom'll keep her mouth shut, but until then, you have to stay on the down low. Come on, my car is over here. Now, it's too late to enroll you in classes, but you can bunk with me in my apartment. Do you need anything in here?"

Lance shook his head. "Not immediately. We can come back tomorrow."

"Alright. Here, lean on me." Keith felt a little awkward as Lance wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing against Keith to keep himself upright as he hopped on one foot, the hurt one held up carefully. Keith helped Lance to his car, and loaded Lance into the passenger seat. Lance amused himself by playing with the radio while Keith drove them to his apartment.

He got them there, and helped Lance in. Keith had never been more grateful his apartment was on the first floor. He set Lance down on the couch, and went to get a bag of ice. Then he paused. "Will ice hurt you? It's frozen water."

"Ice won't hurt me," Lance promised. His eye markings were really distracting, with their soft glow in the dark apartment. Keith got him a bag of ice to put on his ankle, and called Shiro. 

"Hey, bro."

"Keith, it's ass o' clock."

"It is not, it is..." Keith looked at the clock. It was one in the morning. "Well... you weren't asleep, anyways!"

Shiro just sighed. "What is it?"

"I need you to ask Dr. Holt to look at my... friend's ankle? He broke it."

"Why can't you just go to the ER?" Shiro sighed.

"Because I met him tonight. And he's an alien."

Shiro didn't respond for a few seconds. Then he said, "you're shitting me, right?"

"No shitting here," Keith promised. "You can come meet him. His name is Lance. He says he's Altean."

"How did you... I don't even want to know. Look, it's late. I'll ask her tomorrow, okay?"

"Thank you. She needs to keep it a secret."

"I guessed," Shiro muttered. "Now, good  _night_ , Keith."

"Night." Shiro hung up before Keith was done talking. 

"Who was that?" Lance asked.

"My brother, Shiro." Keith shrugged. "Will you be okay sleeping on the couch for now? We can elevate your ankle, and I have some spare blankets-"

Lance was already asleep. Keith sighed and set up pillows to elevate his foot, and tossed on a blanket he found in one of his drawers on him. Lance's facial marks glowed brighter and dimmer in time with his breathing. 

Keith went to his room, and fell asleep wondering what the hell was an Altea.

\---

Keith slept through his alarm, but he didn't sleep through Pidge calling him. Groggily, he answered his phone, putting it on speaker. "Hello?" He mumbled.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER I WAS ASLEEP WHEN YOU TEXTED ME DID YOU REALLY FIND AN ALIEN SHIP WERE THOSE READINGS LEGIT DID YOU MEET AN ALIEN-"

Keith fell out of his bed, landing on the cold hard ground. "Okay, okay, calm down." Keith rubbed his head. "Yes, I met an alien. His name is Lance, but you  _have_ to keep it a secret. I don't know what people will do if they find out."

"Well, how are you going to hide him?"

"He- he looks pretty humanoid," Keith said. "With some concealer, uh, some hair dye- I don't know what to do about his ears."

"I have to see him. Okay- okay! Class is starting, and my teacher will take my phone if I don't put it up now, but I'll drop by later! Okay, bye!"

Keith sighed and stood up. He was still dressed in his jeans and shirt from last night, and his hair was a mess, but he had a class in thirty minutes, so he had to get up.

Keith tugged on a pair of boots and went to the living room. Lance was busily messing with the TV remote- he seemed to have how it worked figured out, and was looking for something to watch. "Hey!" Lance said brightly. "Did I do it right?"

"Yah." Keith went to the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. "I don't know how to feed you," he admitted. "What if things that are okay for humans are poisonous to you, and you drink orange juice, and you  _die_? Holy shit, you could  _die_. After my class, I can go back to your ship, and get you some stuff? There's food there, right?"

Lance nodded. "What are you eating?"

"It's called cereal. It's got a lot of, uh, sugar? Some... what the fuck is  _that_? Uh, anyways. Do you want to try it and hope you don't die?"

"Sure." Keith tossed Lance the box, and Lance stuffed a handful of cereal into his mouth. "Crunchy," he said. "I like the little sweet soft things."

"Marshmallows," Keith supplied. "Now, I have to go. Watch some TV, eat some cereal, I'll be back in a few hours, 'kay? Rest your ankle."

"Alright!"

Keith ran out the door and went to class. It was interesting, but not nearly as exciting as the idea of an alien chilling in his apartment. Keith could not  _wait_ to get home. 

Hunk noticed that he was distracted. "Keith, man? What's up? You keep smiling. And your hair is a  _mess_. And... those are the same clothes you wore yesterday?"

Hunk was clearly assuming something that had not happened had happened. Keith shook his head. "I met a guy! But, like, not like that. He's... um, it's better if you meet him yourself."

"Alright? Now I'm worried?"

"Don't be!" Keith grinned. "After class. Come to my place, you can meet him."

"Okay, Keith." Hunk shrugged. "If you say so."

\---

Keith and Hunk's class was done by twelve, and Keith practically dragged Hunk to his apartment. Lance was exactly where Keith had left him, now watching Legend of Korra reruns. 

"Lance, this is Hunk, we can trust him," Keith declared as he entered. "Hunk, this is Lance. He's an alien."

Hunk blinked a few times. "I'm sorry,  _what_?"

"An alien!" Keith said brightly. "Isn't that cool?"

Lance's ears twitched as he smiled. His white hair, those blue markings under his eyes, and the strangeness of the clothes he was wearing seemed to convince Hunk. "You. Found an alien."

"I did. His pod crashed, and he hurt his ankle."

"It's true," Lance said, gesturing to his ankle like Hunk wouldn't believe him. Honestly, Keith almost didn't believe himself.

"Have you told Pidge?" Was Hunk's first question.

Keith nodded. "And Shiro. But we have to keep this on the down low. Shiro's going to get Pidge's mom to look at his ankle."

Hunk looked at Lance. "So you're going to keep him cooped up in your apartment?"

"I'm going to help disguise him as human," Keith said petulantly. "Just some hair dye and-"

"Or I can do this," Lance said, and his entire being  _shifted_. His ears rounded out, his eye markings disappeared, and his hair grew darker. He waved a hand at his face. "Alteans have camouflage abilities! It's what's made us such great diplomats."

"Oh my God. Oh, dear Lord, he's actually an alien. You're-you're not a weirdo in a field in cosplay?" Hunk stammered.

"I don't know what cosplay is, but I am not from this planet." Lance shifted back into his Altean shape, messing up his white hair.

Hunk whispered, "holy shit."

"What's holy shit?" Lance demanded. "Keith says it too."

"It's like a curse word. We're using it to convey disbelief," Hunk supplied. "Keith, he  _looks_ human, but can he  _act_ human?"

"We'll teach him," Keith said firmly. "Besides, he looks about our age, anyways."

"Great. So we just have an alien chilling in your apartment, with no ID, no social security number, no history, no anything."

"Well, it's not like random strangers will ask for those things!" Keith threw his hands in the air. "Besides, Pidge will help once she gets out of school!"

"School. Does Lance have to enroll?" 

"No," Keith said. "Even if he had things like a history or social security number, it's too late to get in for the fall semester."

"I can learn about humans from here, at least for a little," Lance offered. "Because you had to go to your class."

"I don't think  _My Little Pony_ or  _Keeping Up With the Kardashians_ is exactly the way to learn Earth culture, but okay." Hunk shrugged. 

Keith's phone started ringing. "It's Shiro. I have to get this." Keith answered the phone. "Shiro! What did Dr. Holt say?"

"She said if you bring him to her house on Saturday, she'll see what she can do off the record. She is far too nice to you, Keith."

"Jealous? Thank her for me, will you?"

"Thank her yourself! Saturday!"

"Got it! Okay, thank you, you're the best, bye, love you." Keith hung up. "We're going to Dr. Holt on Saturday."

Lance made a face. "What is  _that_."

"Oh no." Keith put his head in his hands. "Time measurements are different on Altea, aren't they?"

"Very. What's a Saturday?"

"It's a day of the week. Um, so, we have days that are twenty four hours, then seven days in a week, and each day has a special name to tell them apart."

"We have quintants, divided into twenty vargas. There are five quintants in a movement."

"Alright. We can figure out exact time later, but do you measure quintants by the rise and fall of the sun?"

"Yes."

"Great, so do we. So, the rest of today, tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow is when we can get your ankle looked at."

"Okay." Lance made a face. "Your time measurements are strange. Why does every _day_ need a name?"

"I don't fucking know, my dude."

"I have to go," Hunk said. "I'll try to come by later, Keith. It was nice to meet you, Lance!"

"Bye!" Lance waved as Hunk left. 

"I'm going to order some food. Is there anything you know is poisonous to Alteans?"

"Caffeine is  _deadly,_ " Lance said with wide eyes.

"Stay away from coffee," Keith suggested. "But do you think you would be allergic to any of our fruits or vegetables? God, I should really stop taking risks with this. We can always go get that food from your pod?"

"The pod is programmed to self destruct five vargas after impact. How long has it been?"

"I-I don't know. About twelve hours? How long is a varga?"

"60 doboshes."

Keith sighed. "Is it safe to assume that your pod is lost?"

"Probably," Lance agreed. "It's alright. I promise to be careful. After all, it looks like Alteans and  _humans_ are similar. We look almost the same!"

"That's true," Keith sighed. "I'm going to order pizza. How about half cheese half pineapple?"

"What's a pineapple?"

"Something that absolutely belongs on pizza, no matter what Shiro says." Keith got out his computer and started to order the pizza, then sighed and started working on his essays.

"What are you doing?" Lance asked, obviously bored.

"Schoolwork. I have a couple of essays I have to turn in. Do they have school on Altea?"

"Yep. I  _hated_ writing essays. Good luck to you."

"Do you like reading?"

"If it's interesting."

Keith paused for a second to grab a few random books from his shelf, giving them to Lance. "See if you like any of these. Wait, you can understand English, can you read it?"

Lance hummed. "Alteans have an innate ability to understand most languages. Again, diplomats. I can read these."

"Alright, have fun. I have to do my work."

They sat together quietly, Lance reading, and Keith typing, and it felt strangely domestic. Then Keith hit his brain with a stick for thinking something like that. The doorbell rang, and Lance shifted into his human disguise seemingly without thinking about it, continuing reading. Keith got up and paid for the pizza.

Lance liked the cheese pizza, but choked on the pineapple. Keith panicked for a second, thinking he'd poisoned his new alien friend, but it turned out Lance just didn't like pineapple pizza. Coward.

\---

There was a rapidfire knock at Keith's door. He looked at the time- 4:30. "That must be Pidge," Keith said, saving his Word Doc and going to open the door. It was Pidge, pushing up her glasses and barely managing to keep hold of all her papers.

"Where is the alien?" She demanded.

Lance held up his hand. "Hi. You're Pidge? I'm Lance."

Pidge squealed. "Look at his ears! Do they help you hear? Oh, I bet they're a more sensitive than human ears. Oh, wait, can you see different kids of light? How did you get here? What are those markings for? Is your hair natural?"

"Slow down, slow down," Lance laughed. "I guess my ears help me hear, possibly better than humans, but I don't know for sure. Alteans can only see visible light, I got here in a pod, they distinguish me as an Altean, and I can make them glow for various social reasons, and yes, my hair grew this color."

"This is awesome!" Pidge was jumping up and down. "Oh, your ankle! That's why my mom was saying I couldn't say anything about the patient she was going to see at home on Saturday. Jokes on her, now I know! I won't tell anyone, promise! I can't believe I'm talking to a real life alien. Say something in your language, please?"

"Quiznak." Lance shrugged. 

"He's so cool, Keith."

"I have homework," Keith said. "You two can talk, but try to keep it down, okay?"

As Keith worked on his first essay, Pidge and Lance were busily figuring out how Altean and Earth time compared. Pidge even made a handy conversion chart, with some notes about the differences in Altean time. Keith only half listened, because it was more entertaining than his essay. Pidge gave Lance a list of movies, shows, books, music and plays she recommended, and almost gave him her pre-cal textbook.

Pidge left at around seven when her mom called her, and she promised to come back soon.

"I like your friends," Lance said to Keith. "I want to meet your brother!"

"You will," Keith promised. 

Keith got one of his essays completely done, and decided to leave the other one until tomorrow- all he had to do was write a conclusion and proofread, anyways. By the time Keith was done for the night, it was ten at night, and Lance was halfway done with his book, and was now channel surfing while he ate pizza. "Want to watch this with me?" Lance asked, gesturing to where some lego cartoon was on the TV.

Keith shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He put his computer up and came back a few seconds later. Lance made room for him on the couch, even though Keith insisted it was okay, he could drag in a chair from the kitchen, but Lance refused to take no for an answer. There was a marathon of the lego show- something about ninja? -and they watched it for a while. Lance fell asleep halfway through the fourth one, and Keith turned off the TV and tossed a blanket over him. 

 _What in the world have I gotten myself into_? Keith wondered as he went to his own bed to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! its me, back with a klance fic. ive had this idea for a while but never could figure out what to do with it until recently. Good job, me. 
> 
> my tumblr is witchlightsands, i post on and off about a lot of different things


	2. Chapter 2

On Saturday, Keith helped Lance into his truck and drove them up to the Holts'. Pidge was waiting in the yard. They bolted straight up when they saw Keith and Lance, grinning. "Mom!" They called. "Keith's here!"

Cathleen Holt walked out, smiling at her child. Lance had on his human disguise, in case any of the neighbors were nosy. He grinned at Dr. Holt. "Hello," he said.

Dr. Holt ushered him inside. "Why does this need to be off the books, exactly?" She asked.

Lance looked at Keith. Keith nodded. Dr. Holt could be trusted- and Lance really did need a doctor. Lance shifted back into an Altean, and grinned sheepishly.

Dr. Holt blinked. "I see. Well, right this way."

One cast and a pair of crutches later, Lance was hopping around the Holts' yard, getting used to his crutches as Pidge rambled on and on. Keith sat on the porch and watched, typing at his phone occasionally as he thought of important things to tell Lance about Earth stuff. 

Lance eventually hopped up to him. "Pidge has a game on their phone called Fruit Ninja. Do you want to play with us? We're taking turns."

"Sure, why not?" Keith shrugged and put his phone in his pocket, walking to where Pidge was sitting under the big tree in the yard, phone in hand.

"Lance, do you want to go first?" Pidge offered him the phone. "I put it on the easiest mode so you can figure out how to play."

Lance nodded, narrowing his eyes and swiping at the fruit. Pidge explained criticals and combos as Lance hit them, and all the different blades, and Keith watched Lance's expression light up- literally, his marks started glowing -as he got the hang of it. He played three games and then passed the phone to Pidge for their turn.

Keith's stomach rumbled. Pidge laughed at him. "Alright, okay. Late lunchtime. Lance, what do you want to eat?"

"Will your mother mind?"

"Nah, you're my friend. She doesn't mind Keith eating all the spaghetti when she makes it. What do you want, we can probably convince her to get or make it."

"Pizza!" Lance cheered. He narrowed his eyes at Keith. "But  _not_ pineapple. That is  _disgusting_."

"Pineapple... pizza..." Pidge gasped. "Keith, you  _didn't_."

"It's good!" Keith argued. 

"No it's not!" Lance crossed his arms. "It is  _not_. It is the unholy offspring of a bupleberry and a granolee."

"I don't know what that means, but I concur." Pidge crossed their arms. "Pizza, but  _no pineapple_. I'll go tell Mom our order."

Pidge got up and went inside. Lance stuck his tongue out at Keith. "Pidge agrees with me."

"Pidge is a coward who won't acknowledge how great pineapple pizza is."

"Pidge is as brave as any Altean warrior," Lance declared. "They do not fear the pineapple pizza, they are  _smart_ and  _avoid_ it."

"Rude." Keith rolled his eyes with a huff. "So, how are you finding Earth?"

"It's like Altea, but... not. Altea has rings. And different food. I'd kill for a twist."

"A... a what?"

"A twist? It's kind of sweet, has a little caffeine but not enough to hurt, but too many twists can make you sick."

"Like, Altean candy?"

"Yes! You have candy on Earth? But not twists, huh?"

"You can have a little caffeine? I thought you said it was deadly."

Lance smiled a little. "Well, in large doses, yes. A little bit just makes you shaky. You'd have to eat a  _lot_ of twists to get hurt by it. But, you know, parents don't want their kids to eat  _too_ much candy."

"Like the whole 'sugar rots your teeth' thing," Keith mused. "Technically true, but candy is okay if you manage it right."

"Exactly. Do you have Earth candy I can try?" Lance looked hopeful.

"We can ask, and I think I have a pack of M&Ms at my place."

Lance beamed. "Nice!"

"Pizza will be out here in ten minutes," Pidge said, running back outside. They plopped down beside Keith.

Keith turned to them. "Do you have any candy?"

"Sure. Matt always makes sure we have a package of Three Musketeers somewhere in the house. I'll get them when we go in for pizza. Lance, you up for a game of Fruit Ninja?"

"Yah!"

\---

Lance liked chocolate a lot for a species that caffeine was deadly to.

He tossed another few M&Ms in his mouth, pacing up and down the living room on his crutches. "We have to go see Dr. Holt again in a few weeks to make sure your ankle is healing right," Keith said, rummaging in his pantry. He had not shopped with feeding two people in mind. 

"Alteans heal very fast," Lance said. "I should be okay, now that it's set."

"Good." Keith eventually decided he'd go shopping tomorrow. Maybe Lance could come.

Keith looked at Lance. He was practicing his human disguise, but he was still dressed in his Altean clothes. They looked clean, but they had been worn for several days now, and they were very obviously not from Earth. Lance couldn't go out dressed like that.

Keith said, "hold on," and went to his closet, looking for something that might be Lance's size. Eventually, Keith had an entire outfit for him, including a green jacket he didn't even remember buying, and handed it to him. "You know where the bathroom is. Try these on."

Lance nodded, and went to change. Keith got out his phone and started making a list of everything he needed. 

Keith looked up when Lance said, "is this good?"

Keith was not prepared. Apparently, he was an entire half a size smaller than Lance, because there was no other explanation. The jeans seemed to fit fine, and the jacket had been big on Keith so it was okay, but Lance was just taller than Keith, and when his arms weren't perfectly at his side, the shirt raised just a little bit, showing some of his stomach. 

Keith tried not to turn red. "Gr-great. Um, we're going shopping. I need food, and you need clothes, and food, so, um, yah. I just have to call my brother, you know, so- uh, wait in the car? Here." Keith grabbed his keys and unlocked his truck. Lance nodded and went out.

"Shiro," Keith said. "You have a job. Please, we need to go shopping."

"Keith, you have a job, too-"

"Not yet! It's seasonal! I start again in a  _week_ , okay, listen Shiro, we need to go shopping  _right now_."

Shiro seemed confused. "Alright then? I'll meet you there?"

"See yah."

Keith went out to the truck, and thought about it before turning off the radio and just playing the music on his phone. My Chemical Romance filled the old truck.

Lance looked at him. "I love it. This is Earth music? Is this the best? Is it your favorite? Is it all like this?"

Keith laughed a little, turning left. "Yes, yes, yes, no."

"That's amazing! Where are we going to shop? Does Earth have swap-shops and malls?"

"Yah, we have malls. But we're going to one particular store, called Target. Shiro is going to meet us there, and I'm broke at the moment so he's going to help me pay for shit. I love him."

Lance smiled. "I'm glad. Everyone deserves a good sibling."

Shiro was waiting for Keith, sitting on one of the big red ball things in front of the Target. He raised his prosthetic arm in greeting, not looking up from his phone. "Hey," he said. 

"Shiro, this is Lance."

Lance waved. 

Shiro looked up, sliding off the ball. "You look human. Camouflage?"

"The best," Keith attested. 

"Alright, in we go!"

The deal was that Shiro would help Keith out occasionally with things like shopping as long as Keith kept A's and B's. He'd managed so far, really well, actually, even though he felt dead inside. Shiro promised Keith didn't have to pay him back, but Keith had already planned how, so really there was no stopping him. 

"I need food, and Lance needs new clothes," Keith said.

"Yah, he can't be seen in your emo get-up," Shiro joked.

Keith considered flipping Shiro off, but this was a family space, so he didn't. 

Lance kept poking one of the cheap toys in the plastic buckets near the entrance. "It lights up! Just like a flugle! I had one of those when I was, like, four!" Lance put the toy back. "Earth really isn't all that different from Altea, it seems."

"I need you to come grocery shopping with me, to reduce the risk of you getting poisoned. Can you have milk?"

"Keith,  _you_ can't have milk," Shiro pointed out. Keith pointedly ignored him. 

Lance and Keith assembled an assortment of groceries that Keith could make food with and Lance could eat, and Lance got a few Earth clothes that actually fit him. The entire thing went off without a hitch, and no one assumed that Lance was an alien. The fact that he wasn't a green reptile helped a lot, Keith supposed. 

"Thank you, Shiro," Keith said as they loaded their purchases into Keith's truck. "Really. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Order pizza every day and eventually die because you were poisoned by your hellish pineapple addition," Shiro laughed and dodged as Keith tried to hit him with a mostly empty grocery bag. 

\---

"You know, you don't have to stay cooped up in my apartment all day," Keith said once he finally got back from class. "I know you're not an idiot. You'd be careful. You can go for a walk, or explore the neighborhood, or something. Isn't it boring in here?"

Lance shrugged. He'd become partial to wearing that old jacket, and Keith couldn't deny it looked better on Lance than it probably ever had on Keith. "I don't know. I'm just... lonely."

"I'm sorry," Keith said. "You must miss your friends on Altea."

"And my siblings," Lance sighed. "I don't know if they're okay."

"We'll build a ship," Keith said. "Out of soup cans and grocery bags if we have to, and we'll fly across the universe to get to Altea and make sure all your siblings are okay."

Lance smiled, and his markings flared up glowing. "How would you fare in space?" He teased. "You and that mullet of yours."

"I would be the most fearsome space traveler to ever live," Keith declared. 

"You? Fearsome?"

"Yes! I can be fearsome!"

"Keep telling yourself that." Lance laughed.

"Yah, I am! I'd have a laser gun, and go  _plew blam_!" Keith acted out the motion. 

Lance laughed more, falling off the couch. "You are ridiculous," he said, and Keith hoped he didn't imagine the fondness in his voice.


End file.
